Big Muddy Speaker Series presents:
Lewis and Clark's Silas Goodrich: Expert Fisherman
For our last Big Muddy Speaker Series of the year (on Christmas Eve Eve!) we'll be treated to a special theatrical romp by Lewis and Clark reenactor and author Rolland Love.
Rolland will be playing the role of Private Silas Goodrich, who was the most accomplished fisherman on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Although Goodrich didn't keep a journal of his perspective, the diaries of Captains Lewis and Clark captured a few of Goodrich's fishing highlights, including catching catfish weighing up to 150 pounds. He also caught species never recorded before, including the cutthroat trout.
Meet Your Presenter
Rolland Love
, writer
Rolland Love is a writer of several self-published novels set in the Ozarks, including “Blue Hole” and “River’s Edge” – “Blue Hole” is a free download from his website, Ozark Stories.
Related Presentations
Resources & Links
Dig deeper for more info.
- Here's some links to some of Rolland's great content -
- Rolland's website, Ozark Stories, with links to his novels, blogs, short stories and more.
- Purchase Rolland's ebooks and novels on the Independent Author's Network.
- Purchase audiobooks and stories at Learnoutloud.com
- A sample of Rolland's fish stories on PRX.
- He is also the creator of imastory.com, a website for composing, sharing and collaborating on family memoirs. The site has attracted 1,000 stories from around the world that can be read Free.
- "A different angle on the Expedition - Did fish and fishing alter the fate of Lewis and Clark" - by Nick Gevock, Montana Monthly, June 2005
- An interactive e-book, "Fish, Fishing and Lewis & Clark" published by the Federation of Fly Fishers
- "Fishing and the Lewis and Clark Expedition" by Paul Waggoner Jones
- "Fishing with Lewis and Clark" by Chris Santella
The Big Muddy Speakers Series in Kansas City
is hosted by these wonderful partners!
- Little Blue River Watershed Coalition
- Friends of Lakeside Nature Center
- Missouri River Relief
- Healthy Rivers Partnership
- Friends of Big Muddy
- Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge
- Kansas City Digital Video
Thanks to all of our venue hosts for making this possible! Click here for a list of upcoming presentations» The Big Muddy Speaker Series is also held monthly in Rocheport and St. Charles.
Streaming Live!
Kansas City Digital Video is now streaming these presentations LIVE! Go here to connect during the presentation.
Recordings of Presentations
Kansas City Digital Video has been recording Big Muddy Speaker Series presentations. These are available on their website at this link. Some contain synchronized powerpoint presentations. We will be posting these to the archived presentation pages on bigmuddyspeakers.org. Thanks Micheal Morgan and crew for putting this important archive online!
The Big Muddy Speaker Series is partially funded by the Columbia Ecological Services Field Office (USFWS) and the Mo. Dept. of Conservation.
Upcoming Presentations
Leave No Trace Training on the Barge
October 14, 2026St. Louis, MO
Join us for a special Big Muddy Speaker Series on the Living Lands & Waters Barge where Perry Whitaker will lead us in a Leave No Trace Training.
See Event
Missouri River Relief: 25 Years on the Big Muddy
November 10, 2026Columbia, MO
Join us for a journey through time celebrating 25 years of Missouri River Relief's work on the Big Muddy.
See Event
Plastic Pollution, Gulf Hypoxia, and Water Quality
November 11, 2026St Charles, MO
Jennifer Wendt from MidAmerica Clean Future guides us through understanding regional water quality challenges.
See Event